Good "warm" CD player for $500

Try something from the NAD line .
I had a 541 that was pretty warm sounding , great soundstage too .
Should be able to pickup up a 542 for < half of your budget . Rather easy to pass on if you don't like it .

Good luck .

at the risk of creating WERF (wife eye rolling factor) out of thin air, i would mention that the smoothest/warmest lower-priced cd player i've heard is the cute lil' sony ps1 model 1001. i find myself listening to it much more than my higher priced transport, as i listen primarily to rock of so-so recording quality and prefer its analog-like sound to hyper detail.

while i think that most people would consider it on the warm side of neutral, it is the smoothness that wins me over.

and you can usually pick one up for 20-30 bucks on E-whomustnotbenamed, so it's basically no risk. sometimes you can even get the remote with it in a package deal.

cheers.

You may want to add the Rega Planet 2000 to your list.

Although they cost somewhat more than $500, you may want to consider some of the tube-based Chinese-made players offered by Pacific Valve: http://www.pacificvalve.us/cdplayers.html

I have no experience with them, but fwiw their design descriptions seem to say all the right things.

Regards,
-- Al

If you truly have a "bright" room, a new digital player is not going to fix it. Been there, done that, didn't help. You have to somehow soften the room or adjust your listening/speaker positioning. It's amazing how even small adjustments to toe-in, listening distance, spacing of speakers, etc., can take the edge off a system.